Almost two months had passed since Emily arrived at The Burrow and the following day—July 31st—was none other than Harry's birthday. Mrs. Weasley had prepared a celebratory feast that was to be held out in the garden. On the morning of, after breakfast was eaten and the dishes were washed and put away (which was one of the children's chores), Mr. Weasley and the twins were putting up decorations in the yard to get ready for that night's party, while Mrs. Weasley and the girls were busy cooking. Since the boys weren't of age to perform magic outside of school, they were stuck with the tedious task of de-gnoming the garden.

"How's Emily?" Harry asked Ron as he grabbed hold of a gnome's head before chucking it over the fence, ignoring the little beast's grunting and squirming.

"Probably better off than the likes of us. At least they get to be inside where it's cool and not stuck out here where it's hotter than Merlin's backside," Ron groaned as he wiped sweat off his brow. "Why does mum even bother? They're just going to find their way back in the garden. Might as well just ignore them and go about our business." Unbeknownst to the boys, the same gnome that Harry had just tossed had found its way back into the yard through a broken spot in the fence and planted itself back behind the bushes that surrounded the house.

"That's not what I meant," Harry said as he rolled his eyes at his best friend. He stared at him until Ron finally understood.

"Oh." His ears visibly reddened. "G-good."

"Have you two…" Harry trailed off, raising his eyebrows in a suggestive way. Ron chuckled uncomfortably as the redness spread to his cheeks.

"No." His voiced seemed to have raised an octave, causing him to clear his throat before continuing. "Not much of a chance while we're at home. We rarely get alone time, and in this house, who knows how long it'll last before you're interrupted. And I'd rather not be caught with my pants down. Literally."

Harry nodded his head in a way that showed he understood. "Tough break."

"What about you and Ginny?" Ron asked his best friend, though he wasn't quite sure he wanted to hear the answer.

"Same."

The sun was dimming and the food was ready so everyone filed outside to start the celebration of Harry's birth. After the hearty food was eaten and all of the presents were open—and the sun had fully set—the party was left sitting around the table while Mrs. Weasley hummed to the tune of a song that was playing on the radio. As the song concluded and Mrs. Weasley promptly clapped in appreciation (she was the only one), a slower song followed. Wanting to spend some time with Emily, Ron elbowed Harry in the side.

"Ow!" Harry yelped, rubbing the spot where his best friend's elbow connected with his body. "What?"

"Ask someone to dance," Ron demanded.

"What? Why?" Harry asked, confused.

"I want to dance with Emily, but I don't want us to be the first to get up. It might look suspicious."

Harry rolled his eyes at his best friend once again. He had no idea why Ron was so set on hiding his relationship with their other friend. It's not like his parents would be upset; they liked Emily. But he agreed. He turned to Mrs. Weasley. "Would you care to dance, Mrs. Weasley?" he asked his friend's mother as he held out an arm for her to take.

"Oh, Harry!" she giggled (Harry had noticed the empty bottle of firewhisky that sat in front of her after dinner) and grabbed hold of Harry's arm. "Why, of course not, dear!" They moved to an open patch of grass further from the dinner table and Harry took Mrs. Weasley's hand in his and they began to sway, a little too unsteadily.

Ron glanced at Emily from across the table. After a pause in conversation with Hermione, she looked up to find Ron staring at her. She smiled at him, which he returned. After a moment, Ron stood up from his chair and made his way over to his friend. Girlfriend? They hadn't really had the discussion yet…either way, he walked up to her and stuck his hand out. "Dance with me?" he asked, looking into her eyes.

"Since when do you dance?" she joked.

"Since I have someone so beautiful to dance with," he answered. This made her blush, and she looked down at the table before accepting his offer and—taking his hand in hers—making their way over to the other couples that had decided to join Harry and Mrs. Weasley (which included Mr. Weasley and Ginny, Hermione and George, and then there was Fred who had decided not to waste the opportunity to dance with himself).